CREATIVE EXPRESS

CREATIVE EXPRESS…

…is the part of The Junction that focuses on highlighting the use of creativity to support health and wellbeing; the Creative Express Service includes groupwork, one-to-ones and outreach. 

 

We aim to make all our sessions as welcoming, supportive and collaborative as we can, check out an example of one of our group agreements created in collaboration with young people:

CREATIVE HOURS Group Agreement                  

 

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Our next Creative Hours group session will be on Thursday 25th April, 4.30pm-6.30pm – more information soon!

 

For our most recent session we took a trip to Ink On Mesh at The Heart of Newhaven and spent time with Lorna Brown in her studio, learning about her work as an artist and some gell plate printing techniques.

The results were wonderful, as one person said “It’s amazing how we can all start with the same materials and instructions and go on to produce such a wide range of pieces that reflect our own personalities.”

Thanks again to Lorna for being such a great teacher, putting everyone at their ease and making us all feel so welcome.

 

 

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There are lots of great sessions planned for 2025! Check out what we got up to in 2024!

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CREATIVE EXPRESS provides emotionally safe spaces where young people can creatively express their thoughts, feelings and ideas in relation to their own and others health and wellbeing. It does this through the use of various mediums: poetry, painting, collage, creative writing, etc…

Themes for exploration are negotiated in consultation with young people, as is which creative medium might be used to explore them.

It also allows The Junction to explore various creative therapies… 

…such as Bibliotherapy, Art Therapy and Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes…

…and to create bespoke projects and programmes in response to young peoples needs and interests…

…whilst promoting our organisation and meeting ‘new’ young people who may not have previously considered accessing The Junction for support.

Previous outreach has included sessions at The Citadel Youth Centre, Pilton Youth & Children Project,  The Ripple Project, The Jack Kane Centre, Leith Library, local secondary schools and attending events like Edinburgh Pride Youth Space.

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Previous Creative Express projects include:

“Write To Express” our groupwork sessions that explore writing for therapeutic purposes, each programme tailored to the needs and interests of the participants

“Snack & Laughs” a partnership project with Leith Comedy Festival, offering sessions exploring the benefits of laughter and unpicking what gets in the way of young people engaging with live comedy as an audience member or as a performer

“Creative Canvases” a series of sessions held at The Junction, were young people produced pieces for The Junction walls, and some for taking home

“Creating Characters, Cartooning Emotions” workshops with a local artist learning how to create cartoon characters, whilst exploring how we demonstrate emotions

“Space To Remember” an event we ran as part of the To Absent Friends Festival, where young people could reflect on the loss of someoneWhat's Your Story? who had died

Film-making projects in partnership with Screen Education Edinburgh

Creative Express Drop-ins, blocks of weekly sessions where young people used the space to work creatively and flex their self-care ‘muscles’

“What’s Your Story” our  project and performance as part in Scotland’s Year of Stories, is another great example of the types of projects Creative Express develops and delivers. Check out our page dedicated to What’s Your Story HERE!

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 If you want to learn more you can contact

April-Wendy Hayes our Creative Express Worker:

[email protected] or 07526204317